covert

Covert is an adjective meaning not openly acknowledged or displayed; hidden, secret, or kept out of sight. It can describe actions, intentions, or facilities that are intended to remain concealed. In hunting terminology, a covert is a thicket, brush, or other shelter that provides concealment for game or birds and their pursuers.

Etymology traces covert to Old French covert, meaning covered or hidden, which in turn comes from a root related to covering. The word has long carried a sense of being shielded from public view and is related to the noun cover and the verb to cover.

In common usage, covert denotes activities or operations designed to avoid detection or disclosure. In security, intelligence, and law enforcement contexts, covert operations or covert surveillance refer to actions conducted in secret, without public acknowledgment. This is often contrasted with overt actions, which are open and observable. In technology and information theory, a covert channel describes a method of transferring information in ways not intended for communication, typically to bypass restrictions or controls.

Covert can also describe more general concealment of motives or actions, such as covert resistance or covert support, where the underlying intent is hidden from observers. The term is widely used across disciplines including politics, military affairs, and everyday language to indicate secrecy, discretion, or concealment.

See also: overt, concealment, stealth.